Opinion

Need new attitude in elected reps

Posted August 27, 2010 11:00 pm

I am very disappointed in U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam's refusal to support the recent $26 billion state aid bill (HR 1586). This bill provided $415 million to Illinois to retain 5,700 teachers and another 550 million to cover 300,000 Medicaid recipients.

Educating our children and caring for those who need basic health care are priorities in our community, but they are clearly not priorities for Peter Roskam. He seems to have forgotten who his constituents are. His constituents are not Goldman Sachs and Exelon, corporations which fund his campaign. Yet he was quick to vote to allow corporations to continue pumping limitless money into politics without transparency (witness his "No" vote on disclosure requirements in HR 5175).

We need a congressman who can stay in tune with his true constituents, without being lulled to sleep by a surfeit of money from corporations. Congressional candidate Ben Lowe's refusal to take PAC or lobbyist money is most welcome evidence of the new attitude we need to see in our elected representatives.

Eric Norregaard

Wheaton

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